I had the best of plans to be super productive and write a super long blog about being a superhero content creator for nonprofits way earlier in the week…and then life got in the way.
First day of school prep. Kids Sports schedule. No childcare all week.
Good Lord, it’s like my life is run by my children!
You name the kid-led-excuse, I had it.
Unfortunately, meetings, projects – or even more challenging, deadlines to publish digital content – are still loom. And we’re on the clock to produce.
Not only that, but we’re expected to be everywhere on social media, accessible to all humans on earth, and interesting to the masses in order to create enough buzz and excitement that folks from all walks of life drop what they are doing and give us all their money – like a digital hold up of do-gooders in some Podunk western outpost.
But that’s just not possible. I can be frustrating when we only have a handful of volunteers, a finite number of employees and a skill set that won’t nominated for an annual Pulitzer prize.
But without a strong nonprofit digital marketing game – or actual presence at all – we are risking not being seen, heard, or cared about.
So what’s the balance? What’s the plan? What do you do first!? So many questions!
Well, yesterday we hosted a fantastic webinar on making sharable content for your nonprofit in order to spark interest in giving, alignment and ultimately partnerships to help you mission succeed. If you missed, it, here’s a link to the replay!
More importantly, there were several key takeaways that your nonprofit should think about when overly stressed about your content and how to get folks to engage with it.
Spoiler alert: Keep it simple.
But if you’re interested in fantastic tips and tricks on how to keep a clear mind in the chaos of all things content creation – keep reading for the Top 5 Ways to Improve your Nonprofit's Content…Without Going Insane:
1. Stop Trying to Go Viral
I distinctly remember sitting in a board meeting one sunny afternoon. The room was full of hope and positivity as we discussed where our organization was headed and celebrating some donor wins, until someone said:
“We should put all our effort into doing a viral video like the Ice Bucket Challenge.”
And off the rails the conversation & meeting we went.
Every hair-brained idea was spewed forth like a broken fire hydrant of well intentioned marketing ploys.
Jell-O Baths.
Gross things to eat.
Haunted Houses.
Writing a musical.
Like every idea ever ideated.
And instead of concentrating on our message, mission and meaning of impact in the community, our energy was refocused to become Facebook Famous rather than marketing better as an organization.
Stop. Trying. To. Go. Viral.
Truth? You probably won’t. And that’s just a helluva lot of wasted time.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention to trends, current world events, or other stupid celebrity news happenings to have relevant conversations while also avoiding having that deer-in-the-headlights look when asked about said media things.
But it does mean that your purpose is to create content that matters for those who care and for those who WOULD care if they experienced your organization. And virility happens randomly…or with a longer term plan of consistency.
2. Just keep Swimming
I don’t think I appreciated all the wonderful life and professional advice given in the movie Finding Nemo until recently.
Now, besides the insane and totally plausible conspiracy theory that Nemo was actually dead the whole time, and that his dad was traumatized and just talking to himself and seeing things the whole movie (which makes Dori’s confused looks at what they say the whole time understandable because no one is there) there’s a lot of fundraising and communication tips!
Including consistency.
Just keep posting. Just keep posting. Just keep posting.
No, don’t post to just post, but don’t think that a lake of likes or other vanity metrics has anything to do with your success.
Consistency LEADS to being viral. Even if that means just going viral within your own network.
The best content is content that is top of mind.
3. Stay in Your Lane
I’m an old person. That’s what my daughter said the other day. She clearly doesn’t know that I am super cool and in my brain I am still 24.
But that still doesn’t mean I should be making Tik Tok dances.
In fact, I should avoid this at all cost.
And unless your donor base and biggest supporters are on a brand new channel, YOU probably want to avoid going ALL IN on new platforms too. At least not yet.
If your core group of individuals converse on Facebook and Instagram – double down your efforts there!
If your business connections are better engaged on LinkedIn, post there!
Also, doesn’t that make you feel so great? You’re welcome! You’re unburdened from being an expert in 50 things and just really amazing at a few!
Whew!
4. Don’t Over Complicate It
We say this all the time here on the blog, but dammit – we’ll KEEP saying it until we are blue in the face: Stop Overcomplicating Things.
Seriously. That’s the tip. I’m not even going to over explain overcomplicating. Just don’t.
Wondering if you’re overcomplicating things? Explain your content to a random volunteer and if their eyes glaze over 8 seconds into your explanation….you’re overcomplicating.
So stop it.
Clarity over Clever is your goal with content. It’s your true north. Stick to it.
5. Pinterest Sounds Like Crazy Town and I Want Nothing to Do With It
Listen, I was intrigued when presented with the idea to make a splash on Pinterest. I only thought it was for looking up fun projects to entertain my kids during a snow day, or what to do with nearly over-ripe bananas that wasn’t banana bread. ‘Cause there’s just only SO much banana bread I can eat and make.
However, did you know that you’re expected to post or pin (I still don’t know the difference to be honest) between 15 and 20 times per day to even be noticed to the masses?
Ain’t nobody got time for that!
It reminded me that we don’t need to be everywhere. And we don’t need to be for everyone.
We just need to prioritize our goals (Hey! Mondays are a good day to do just that!) and knock them out of the park instead of getting sidetracked by spending your day over-creating just to create.
Want even MORE content about content?
Check out two of our favorite podcasts we recorded about it HERE:
Like being in a room where you can learn this too – and put together a plan in real time to bring back to your office and you live in the Midwest? Well, you should join us at this year’s Do Gooders Conference! 6 Cities! 3 weeks! 1 Awesome Event!
Now…Get after it gang!
-Patrick